Fishnets and All, Bratz Image Gets a Hollywood Polish

By BROOKS BARNES

Published: July 16, 2007

The Bratz are headed to rehab, courtesy of Hollywood.

Since introducing the line of overtly sexy dolls in 2001, the toy maker MGA Entertainment has sold over 150 million Bratz around the world, giving Mattel's Barbie a migraine and spawning an empire that stretches from animated direct-to-DVD movies to a line of clothes.

But negative public perception has prevented the Bratz from blossoming into a full-scale entertainment phenomenon. Parents and child advocacy groups have long argued that the dolls, with their fishnet stockings, pouty lips and micro-mini skirts, encourage pre-adolescent sexuality.

With ''Bratz: The Movie,'' MGA and Lionsgate want to change that image. The live-action film, produced by Avi Arad (''Spider-Man'') and Paula Abdul, to be released on Aug. 3, portrays the four characters as misunderstood teenage prodigies who decipher complicated algebra problems and apply lip gloss with the same gusto. They volunteer to do household chores and chirp lines like, ''My mom is my hero.''

''The goal is to broaden the appeal by demonstrating to parents and children alike that there is more to these characters than what they think,'' said Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate. Mr. Arad, who until recently served as chief executive of Marvel Studios, added: ''The one thing we didn't want is for this movie to be sassy.''

The makeover risks alienating Bratz fans, but MGA decided the movie's potential to spruce up the brand was too great to ignore. Consumers may spend hundreds of millions annually on Bratz dolls and related merchandise, according to the company, but Isaac Larian, MGA's chief executive, says the dolls, now six years old, are losing some sizzle in the marketplace.

MGA, which is privately held, does not release financial data, but Mr. Larian said doll sales are up increased 12 percent for the quarter. ''It's a bit lower than in the past, but we would have been happy if it was just flat,'' Mr. Larian said.

Lionsgate is hoping for a lift, too. The independent studio wants to make a name for itself in the family film business, much as it has done in the horror niche with movies like the ''Saw'' series. The studio needs the effort to succeed now more than ever: over the last few months, horror movies, and some Lionsgate releases in particular, have performed poorly due to oversaturation.

Hollywood holds an advanced degree in repackaging brands for the big screen -- ''Transformers'' raked in $187 million at United States theaters in its first 10 days of release but ''Bratz: The Movie'' is far from a guaranteed success. Parents are likely to be skeptical of the Bratz clan's newfound purity and live-action movies intended for children can be a difficult sell. For every ''High School Musical'' there is a ''Nancy Drew,'' a Warner Brothers effort that arrived in June with a thud.

Perhaps the biggest challenge involves bringing the dolls to life. Jack Trout, a marketing and brand consultant based in Greenwich, Conn., warns that Bratz fans already have their own ideas about how the characters would behave if alive.

''This is a brand with a lot of negative implications,'' Mr. Trout said. ''To try and change minds about that while also giving the characters real-life personalities is going to be extremely difficult to pull off.''

Aware that Bratz devotees might balk at seeing their dolls look and behave in ways that don't match their imaginations, Lionsgate decided to introduce the four characters slowly in an ad campaign. The first wave of posters showed only half of the actresses' heads. A second stage involved revealing more of their bodies but with various items (bubble gum, an iPod) hiding their faces. Posters and ads didn't reveal their entire images until recently.

To bolster the teenage audience, which may still be enamored with the Bratz lifestyle if not with the actual dolls, Mr. Beeks said, Lionsgate secured an unusual promotional arrangement with MTV. Since a big chunk of the movie's script involves a sweet 16 party, Lionsgate cut a deal with MTV, home to the popular reality series ''My Super Sweet 16,'' to film the movie's fake party and show it as a special episode.

As for the content of the movie, producers tried to blend naughty and nice. The four characters, Chloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmine, arrive on the first day of high school to find a war zone of various cliques ruled by Meredith, the wicked student body president.

The Bratz might bare their midriffs, cake their faces in makeup and worship stiletto boots, but they know wrong from right: they decide to teach the school a lesson in diversity by winning a talent show. (Lionsgate describes the movie as ''High School Musical'' meets ''Clueless'' meets ''Mean Girls.'')

Mr. Arad has few concerns about how ''Bratz: The Movie'' will perform. He is already working on a sequel and a Broadway show.

''I am really pleased with how these characters turned out,'' he said. ''In fact, I wish they were my own daughters.''